Also: Outdated Rules, JET A Prices Slide, AK Pilot Flew On Suspended Tkts, Thunderbird 8 Coming to OSH26 A Delta flight crew reported hearing a loud bang after a firework apparently struck the aircraft during its descent. A Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 operating Flight DL1076 from Atlanta to Chicago Midway International Airport was reportedly struck by a firework while on final approach shortly before 8:40 p.m. local time on July 4th. According to air traffic control recordings, the aircraft was about 200 feet above the ground when the crew reported, "We just had a firework hit our plane…" The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has confirmed that its uncrewed X-65 demonstrator has reached a key production milestone, with Aurora Flight Sciences receiving the first completed wing set and beginning integration with the fuselage. The progress moves the program closer to planned ground testing in late 2026 and a first flight currently targeted for 2027. Indonesian security forces Friday recovered the body of an American pilot who was killed after armed separatists attacked and set fire to the Pilatus Porter he was flying in the restive Papua region, a military commander said. Nicholas F. Goselin, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company PT AMA, was shot dead Thursday shortly after he landed at the Ipdeheik airstrip in Balinggama village of the Yahukimo regency in the mountainous province of Papua Highlands. All this — and MORE in today’s episode of Airborne-Unlimited!!!
